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Shadow Hunt, Shadow Point Security Romantic Suspense Series, Book 1
©2026 Misty Evans
Bobby couldn’t save her either.
The words burned in Garrett’s mind like acid. Fifteen years of carefully constructed distance between Bobby Anderson and himself evaporated with five words on a screen.
He stood in the command center, staring at Claire’s phone, his hands shaking with a rage he hadn’t felt since Colombia. Since the night he’d hunted down the man who’d been torturing local women. Since he’d crossed lines he could never uncross.
The Countdown Killer wasn’t just taunting Claire.
He was taunting him.
“Commander?” Lynx’s voice pulled him back. “You want me to trace this?”
Garrett forced his jaw to unclench. “Do it. Now.”
His team moved. Lynx was at his laptop, fingers flying. Grizzly was checking perimeter alerts. Hawk was pulling up surveillance feeds. And Vivi watched Garrett with those too-knowing psychologist eyes.
Claire sat in the corner, still pale from the panic attack. Still shaken from the message. Looking at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces.
He couldn’t meet her eyes. If he did, she might see the truth written all over his face.
Bobby couldn’t save her.
Because Bobby had been eighteen and stupid and a hundred miles away when Lily was taken. Because Bobby had failed in every way that mattered. Because Bobby was weak.
But Garrett wasn’t.
“Got it.” Lynx looked up, his face grim. “Message originated from Blackridge.”
The room went silent.
“Blackridge,” Garrett repeated. His voice was hollow. “He’s here.”
“Could be using a relay,” Hawk offered. “Spoofing his location.”
“Or he’s actually here,” Grizzly said. “In town. Close enough to see the compound.”
Garrett’s blood ran cold. The stalker wasn’t in D.C. anymore. He’d followed Claire to Montana. Maybe watching the compound and planning his next move.
“How close?” Garrett asked.
Lynx pulled up a map. A red dot blinked in the center of town. “Signal came from downtown. The coffee shop next to The Last Stand has public Wi-Fi. He could have sent it from inside or from a vehicle outside.”
Claire rose, a ghost of herself, moving toward the blinking light.
“Surveillance footage?” Garrett barked.
“I’m pulling it now, but—” Lynx shook his head. “It’s a busy coffee shop. A dozen people inside. Another dozen walking past. He could be any of them.”
“Or none of them,” Claire said quietly. “He could have used a remote device and sent the message without being physically present.”
Garrett wanted to put his fist through a wall. Wanted to get in his truck and drive to Blackridge and tear the town apart until he found the bastard.
But that’s what the killer wanted. To make him sloppy. Emotional. Reactive.
Garrett Cross didn’t get emotional. He planned, stalked, just like his call sign. The serial killer was about to come up against a fellow predator.
“We need to reply,” Garrett said.
Claire’s gaze snapped to his. “What?”
“This is our chance.” Garrett moved to the conference table and pulled up a map of the area. “He wants to play games. We play better. Time to set the trap.”
“What do you want to say?” Lynx asked.
Garrett studied the map. Abandoned warehouses. Industrial areas. Places outside town where they could control the terrain. Where the stalker would feel like he had the advantage, but Shadow Point would own every angle. He even considered his own shabby cabin. Talk about poetic justice if he could lure this bastard to that and bring Lily the justice she deserved.
“Claire tells him she’s tired of running. Wants to end this. Face to face. On the anniversary.”
Claire nodded. “But you’re going to be waiting.”
Garrett pointed to a location on the map. “This old mining facility is ten miles outside Blackridge. It’s been abandoned for twenty years.”
Grizzly nodded. “I know the place. It has multiple entry points, good sight lines, and it’s isolated. Perfect for an ambush.”
“His ambush or ours?” Lynx asked.
“Ours.” Garrett looked at his team. “He thinks he’s hunting Claire. But we’ll be hunting him.”
“He’s too smart for that,” Claire said. “He won’t just walk into an obvious trap.”
“He will if we make it believable.” Garrett turned to her. “You’re exhausted. Broken. Desperate. The message needs to sound like you’re at the end of your rope. Like you’d rather face him on your terms than spend another day waiting for him to strike.”
“He won’t believe I’d agree to meet him alone.”
“You’re going to tell him to bring one person—someone to witness. Make it sound like you want an audience. Like this is your grand finale.” Garrett’s voice was cold, calculated. “Predators like him want recognition. Want their genius acknowledged. We give him that.”
Vivi frowned. “It’s risky. If he suspects for even a moment—”
“Then we adjust. Right now, we have one advantage: he doesn’t know we know he’s in Blackridge. He thinks he’s still hidden. Anonymous.” Garrett looked at each of them. “We use that.”
“What do I say?” Claire asked quietly.
Garrett met her eyes. Saw the fear there. The exhaustion. The determination underneath.
He gestured at Lynx, who handed him the phone. He brought up the message and began Claire’s reply. “You’re clearly intelligent and have outwitted all of us. I’m tired of this game and want to meet face-to-face. Let’s do it on the anniversary of Lily’s death.”
“You really think he’ll just… agree to that?” Claire asked.
“No. He’ll counter and negotiate. But it opens the door. Gets him talking.”
“Gives me a chance to trace more communications,” Lynx said.
Garrett’s jaw tightened. “And it tells him that you’re breaking. That he’s winning.”
“He’ll insist I come alone,” Claire said.
“And it will appear that you are. You’ll tell him you’re going to ditch your security guards and do this your way.”
“You’re not going to let me within ten feet of the place, though,” she said. “Are you?”
“Not even close.”
“I hate this plan.” She scraped her hair back. “I want to be there when you take him down. He should be my arrest.”
He took a breath, softened his voice. “You hate any plan that isn’t within your control. We all do.”
“That’s not—” She stopped. Exhaled. “Fine. I admit that’s true, but if you were in my shoes, you’d feel the same way.”
He hesitated. She was right. “Fair point, but in this case, I need you to stay as far away from him as possible. Once we have him, you can officially arrest him. Deal?”
She narrowed her eyes, didn’t agree. “What do I say about Bobby? The message mentioned him. I should address it, shouldn’t I? Get him to explain himself?”
Garrett’s chest constricted. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not pertinent to the goal. He wants to see you react. To know he hit a nerve, but you barely knew this Bobby kid.” Garrett kept his voice level. “You ignore it and focus only on the meeting. The anniversary. Make him think you’re conceding.”
Claire studied him for a long moment. Like she was trying to read something in his expression. He kept his face carefully blank.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Send it.”
Garrett hit Send.
Then they waited. Minutes stretched into an hour as the team monitored feeds, ran scenarios, and prepared for every possible response.
No reply came.
“Maybe he’s not checking his phone,” Hawk suggested.
“He’s checking,” Vivi said. “He sent that message to get a reaction. He’s watching to see what she does.”
“Then why isn’t he responding?” Claire asked.
“Because he’s toying with you,” Garrett said. “He knows instant responses look desperate. He wants to string this along, and he’s taking time to analyze the message. Decide if it’s genuine.”
“Or he knows it’s a trap,” Grizzly added.
“Either way, he’ll respond. He’s come too far to let this slip away from him. We just have to wait him out.” Garrett stood. “Grizzly, I want you on perimeter patrol. Hawk, rotate with Bobcat on overwatch. Lynx, continue monitoring all communications. If he responds, I want to know immediately.”
His team moved out. He was soon alone in the command center with Claire and Vivi.
“You should rest,” Garrett said to Claire.
“I’m not tired.”
“You didn’t sleep last night and had a panic attack two hours ago. Your body needs—”
“My body is fine.” She crossed her arms. “What I need is to be useful. Not locked in a room while everyone else works.”
“You are being useful. You gave us everything we need to catch this guy. Now you let us execute.”
“This is my case, and I’m the target. I can’t rest.”
Time for a dose of her own medicine. “If the situation were reversed, and I was the one being stalked, what would you advise me to do under the circumstances?”
Claire’s eyes flashed. “Reverse psychology won’t work on me.”
Vivi smiled.
“Come on,” Garrett pressed. “Answer the question, Agent Dawson.”
Her hands went to her hips. “Are you purposely trying to rile me up?”
“Whether I am or not, you’re proving to me that you’re overly emotional.”
“I am not.”
They stared at each other. Stubborn alpha meeting immovable alpha.
Vivi cleared her throat. “I’ll check on the profile updates. Let you two… discuss strategy.”
She left, grinning.
Garrett turned back to Claire. “Your room. Now.”
“You’re not my commanding officer.”
“I’m the tactical commander of this operation, which means when it comes to your safety, yes, I am.”
“This is ridiculous—”
“This is keeping you alive, Paperclip.”
“Don’t you dare call me that.”
Garrett stepped closer. Close enough to see the exhaustion in her eyes. The fear she was trying to hide. “Please, Claire. Just… let me do my job.”
Something in his voice must have gotten through. She deflated. “Fine. But I’m not staying in that room alone all night while you plan without me.”
“Bobcat will take watch.”
“What?” Her head snapped up. “Where will you be?”
“Here. Planning every single detail of the operation with my team.”
“Then I’m staying here with you.”
“No—”
“I’m the one he’s hunting. I’m the one who knows his patterns. I’m the one who—”
“—is too close to this,” Garrett finished. “You can’t be objective about a predator who’s obsessed with killing you.”
“And you can? You lost your sister to a killer, too. You’re just as compromised on this as I am.”
The words hit like a gut punch. She didn’t know how right she was.
“That’s different,” he managed.
“How?”
“It just is.” Garrett headed for the door. “Let’s get you back to your room.”
“Wolf—”
He kept walking.
Claire’s room felt smaller with both of them in it. Garrett grabbed his go-bag and checked his gear. Weapons, tactical equipment, extra magazines. He hated not being with her, but he needed to be in the op center. He couldn’t exactly hold meetings in here. Let Bobcat take watch while he coordinated the details of what they’d do, no matter what stunt the killer tried to pull.
Because he would. Garrett didn’t need to be a profiler or a psychologist to know that.
“What’s that?”
Garrett turned. Claire was looking at his open bag. At the photograph tucked into the inside pocket. It had half fallen out.
His chest tightened. He quickly shoved it back inside and zipped the bag. “Nothing.”
“Looks like a photo.” She moved closer. “Is it of you and your sister?”
He should have hidden it better. Should have left it somewhere she couldn’t see. But he’d needed it close. Needed the reminder of why he was here. Why he couldn’t fail.
The photo was old. Two kids at a park. Lily, age ten, grinning at the camera. And Bobby, age fourteen, his arm around her shoulders. The last photo their mother had taken of the two of them before Lily died.
“It’s private,” Garrett said, keeping his back to her.
“You carry her photo with you. Just like I carry Lily’s.” She caught his eye and shoved the framed photo at him. “These photos remind us of why we do what we do.”
He couldn’t speak and barely glanced at it. His throat felt tight. His chest, too.
Her gaze dropped to his bag as she brought her framed photo to her chest. “Can I see yours?”
“No.” He grabbed the bag’s strap. “It’s… I don’t share it.”
Claire’s expression softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t fine. Nothing about this was fine.
“What was her name? You never told me.”
Garrett’s hands stilled on his bag. This was dangerous territory. One wrong word and she’d start connecting dots. Would start seeing patterns. Would realize—
“I should go,” he said.
“Don’t change the subject. Your sister. What was her name?”
“Claire—”
“Please.” Her voice was soft now. Vulnerable. “I told you about Lily. About the worst night of my life. I just… I want to know about yours.”
He couldn’t tell her. Couldn’t say Lily’s name and watch recognition dawn in her eyes. Couldn’t risk everything. “She was a good kid. That’s all that matters.”
“Wolf.” Claire’s voice was strange now. Uncertain. “What was her name?”
“I need to go.” He grabbed his bag and opened the door.
“Wolf, wait—”
He was out the door before she could ask again. The new man, Bobcat, was waiting. “Sir,” he said, coming to attention.
“Bobcat, this is Agent Dawson.” He motioned at Claire. “Claire, this is your new bodyguard.”
Bobcat started to walk inside. Claire put a hand on his chest to stop him. “No.”
Garrett sighed. “Claire.”
She tossed Lily’s picture on the bed and walked out of the room. “I’m coming with you.”
“You need to stay in your room.”
“And I told you I’m not sitting on the sidelines.” She walked past him, chin up, spine straight. “I’m part of this operation whether you like it or not.”
“Claire—” he tried again.
“I need to check in with my team at the FBI. Call Reeves. Update them. Then I’m sitting in on your planning session because I know this killer better than any of you, and you need me there.”
He hated it, but she was right.
“Fine.” Garrett turned to Bobcat. “You’re with us.”
The three of them headed to the operations room, with its tactical maps, communication equipment, and enough weapons to supply a small army. Grizzly and Lynx were already there, studying satellite images of the abandoned mining facility. Hawk was outside, keeping eyes on the perimeter. Garrett sent Bobcat to back him up.
Lynx moved to his laptop. “All security monitors are operational. There are three drones in the air, and I’ve got eyes on every approach to the compound.”
“Good.” Garrett turned to Claire. “Make your call, but do not mention the new message. Do not mention our plan. Standard check-in only.”
“Is that an order, Commander?” Claire said dryly.
“Yes, it is, Paperclip.”
Rolling her eyes, she pulled out her Bureau phone and dialed Reeves. She put it on speaker so they could all hear. It rang four times and went to voicemail.
“Marcus, it’s Claire. Just checking in. Everything’s fine here. Shadow Point is…thorough. Call me when you can. I want to hear how the task force is doing.”
She hung up. Looked at Garrett. “He should have answered. He always answers.”
“Could be in a briefing,” Grizzly suggested.
“At nine PM?”
“Or he’s got his phone off. Sleeping.” Lynx shrugged. “Even SACs need rest.”
Claire didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t argue.
Garrett moved to the tactical map. “Okay. Let’s assume the stalker takes our bait. Agrees to meet at the mining facility on the anniversary. Here’s how we—”
The door burst open.
Vivi’s face was pale, and her hands were shaking.
Garrett’s blood went cold. “What is it?”
“Local police just reported a homicide.” Vivi’s voice was tight. “A woman, mid-twenties. brunette hair, blue eyes. Her throat was slashed.”
The room went silent.
“Where?” Garrett asked.
“Behind the coffee shop where the message was sent.” Vivi’s eyes met his. “She looks like Claire.”
Claire made a sound—something between a gasp and a sob.
The Countdown Killer wasn’t waiting for the anniversary. Wasn’t playing their game. He was hunting. Right now. In their town.
And he’d just killed a woman who looked like Claire. “He’s not just here,” Garrett added. “He just replied to our message.”
___
Don’t miss the next chapter!
Misty
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